Fractions: Halves, Thirds, and Fourths — Answer Key
Part A: Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer for each question.
1. Which fraction is the smallest?
A) 12
B) 13
C) 14
D) 24
Splitting a whole into more equal parts makes each part smaller. 14 cuts the whole into 4 pieces, which gives smaller pieces than 12 or 13.
2. A rectangle is divided into 4 equal parts. Three parts are shaded. What fraction is shaded?
A) 14
B) 24
C) 34
D) 44
The bottom number 4 tells us there are 4 equal parts in all, and the top number 3 counts the shaded ones. Three out of four equal parts is written as 34.
3. Lin has 6 stickers. She gives one-third away. How many stickers does she give away?
A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 6
One-third of 6 means splitting 6 stickers into 3 equal groups, and 6 divided by 3 equals 2. Lin gives away one of those groups, which is 2 stickers.
4. Which two fractions are equal?
A) 12 and 14
B) 13 and 14
C) 24 and 12
D) 13 and 12
24 means 2 out of 4 equal parts shaded, which fills exactly half of the whole. So 24 and 12 cover the same amount even though they are written differently.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the correct answer on each line.
1. One-fourth of 16 is 4.
One-fourth means splitting 16 into 4 equal groups, and 16 divided by 4 equals 4. Each group is one-fourth of 16, or 4.
2. One-third of 3 cookies is 1 cookie.
One-third means splitting 3 cookies into 3 equal groups, and 3 divided by 3 equals 1. Each group has just 1 cookie.
3. If a shape is divided into 4 equal parts and all 4 are shaded, the fraction is 44.
The bottom number 4 counts the equal parts, and the top number 4 counts the shaded ones, so the fraction is 44. 44 also means the whole shape is shaded, or 1 whole.
4. One-half of 20 is 10.
One-half means splitting 20 into 2 equal groups. Since 10 + 10 = 20, each group is 10, so one-half of 20 is 10.
5. Two-thirds means 2 parts out of 3 equal parts.
In the fraction 23, the top number 2 counts the parts you have, and the bottom number 3 tells you the whole is split into 3 equal parts. So two-thirds means 2 of those 3 equal pieces.